Pearl Jam performs at Oracle Arena in Oakland on Nov. 26, 2013. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. First off, yes, I’m doing the Christmas column nearly a week before Christmas. It’s the last pre-Christmas column. Blame the concept of time. Anyway, at the risk of going full Grinch on you, I can’t…

Ty Segall is a very busy man. The Laguna Beach garage rocker filled last year with Freedom’s Goblins, covers album Fudge Sandwich and his collaboration with White Fence, Joy. First Taste clarifies once again that Segall has yet to spread himself too thin, slathering on his brand of fuzzed-out, dirty sauce more thickly than…

Look, you guys, my heart’s really not in this. My beloved Oakland Athletics just lost the Wild Card game to the embodiment of the stodgy joylessness of baseball’s establishment. I’m in the throes of a deep malaise from which I’ll likely never recover. I’m more ennui than man and…

Florence and the Machine at Outside Lands in San Francisco on Aug. 11, 2018. Shawn Robbins. I can safely say that Outside Lands is the best large scale music festival running right now. Having been to my fair share of music festivals for about 10 years now, nothing beats…

Ranger Dave at Outside Lands in San Francisco on August 10, 2018. Photos: Shawn Robbins and Joaquin Cabello Outside Lands reveals its best and worst to me throughout the day, and it might not be what you expect. The best and worst of Friday are below. In short, I…

Photos: Joaquin Cabello and Shawn Robbins SAN FRANCISCO — The Weeknd put on a headliner-caliber show to close out the first day of Outside Lands on Friday. It’s hard to believe the Canadian artist was just another YouTube singer only eight years ago. His polished neo-R&B vocals were accompanied by…

You know how the music you liked as a teenager sticks with you, and you remain a fan for life? Those songs take you back to a simpler time when you were discovering your tastes and personality, separate from your parents,’ for the first time. What I’m saying is…

  Illustration: Vivian Shih It’s “love and hate” week at RIFF. We’ve taken on the theme of Valentine’s Day to talk about both sides of love. We’re starting off with my favorite love songs, but there are some caveats: These are only since 1980. There’s a whole bunch of really…

Sofi Tukker As I finish this list from across the ocean in Australia, I can’t help but reminisce on what an unpredictable, and oftentimes sad year 2016 has been for music fans. Starting with the tragic passing of David Bowie in January: A fearless visionary, iconoclast and personal hero.…

Stevie Wonder performs at Outside Lands at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco on Aug. 12, 2012. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. Stevie Wonder performs at Outside Lands at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco on Aug. 12, 2012. Check out more photos and a video playlist from the 2012 iteration of…